INF2332: Information Behaviour

Course overview

Information behaviour is the currently preferred (but
contested) term used to describe the many ways in which human beings interact
with information, in particular the ways in which people seek and utilize
information. An understanding of information behaviour is central to work in
the information professions and knowledge-based industries. For more than 75
years information behaviour research has been conducted in the field of library
and information science and forms a rich, central research tradition that has
much to offer professional practice and information provision in all kinds of
settings. For Winter 2014, INF2332 takes advanced graduate students deep into a
small set of important books and ideas about information behaviour. Along the
way, emphasis will be placed upon methodological aspects of information
behaviour research, that is, how it is conducted. What is more, the learning
experience in the course will be driven by two original research projects.
Students will engage in a collaborative visual study about the nature of
information in various disciplines and conduct information horizon interviews
on a population of their choice. Since substantial time will not be spent “getting
up to speed” on foundational concepts, prior exposure to information behaviour
scholarship (through INF1310 or INF2332) is recommended; alternatively,
optional introductory readings will be provided. INF2332 is ideal for
precocious learners who harbor a personal research question about information
behaviour and/or those who wish to advance a concatenated research career. Of
note, INF2332 will be emergent and participant-directed, unfolding in synch
with student interests and progress, hence the schedule that follows (on page
3) is subject to change.

Learning Outcomes

• An
awareness of the contribution of information behaviour research to library and
information science and its professional realms.
•Familiarity
with the central concepts of information behaviour, namely: information
practice, information need, information seeking, information searching,
browsing, information encountering,information use, and so on.
•Rudimentary
knowledge of seminal models of information behaviour.
•A
sensitivity to the diversity and complexity of information behaviour within
various situations, social worlds, and contexts.
•Advanced
understanding of the important theoretical and methodological contributions by Anders
Hektor, Elfreda Chatman, Diane Sonnenwald, and Carol Kuhlthau, and an inkling
of their implications for practice.
•Experience
with the draw-and-write technique and the iSquare protocol to study
information.
•An
ability to design and conduct an information horizon interview and to write-up
the findings.

Information Behavio(u)r Blog

If you are interested in information behaviour you might enjoy my blog which is written for students of the topic.